George Pyne on Pro-Athletes Using Platform for Change

for the opportunity. It's really nice to hear your voice. So what a time that we're living in when it comes to sports, as I said, and especially good to talk to you after last week where I feel like we have thrown around the word unprecedented a lot in these pandemic times, but I've never seen anything like last week. I don't think you have either when it comes to sports.

Just stopping, what did you make of it? Well, you know, I think it's positive as you have players and people that I really want to see positive change, better things for the country, and believe strongly in social justice. And I think people you know, stood up for what they believe and so I think fundamentally it's a really good thing. It's kind of refreshing, and you know, you're seeing in the case of these athletes really taking a stand on

something they believe is a real moral issue. Um, they don't have to, that's there, that's not their responsibility, but they as as citizens really standing up for something they really believe in. So I I think it's fundamentally a good thing. Why hasn't it something like this happened before? Well, I think it's an evilution. I think it's an evolution.

I think also to watching what's happened, you know, on on TV through social media, it's just so disturbing that I think it's brought a real more emphasis to an issue that we all know. It's been there a long time, but you's key, it's just to watch you to say, is visceral for so many people. So I think I

think it's a a good thing. And of course you've had if you think back, I mean, I think these moments also make you think about people like Bill Russell, or Muhammad Ali or Jesse o Ands or Jackie Robinson, and just the things that they did and the challenges they must have faced. It just really makes you appreciate them, I think a little bit more today as well. So I guess sports has always been a platform for some change, but I think now you're seeing it being used in

a more universal way, and I think a very constructive way. Well. And it's interesting, George, to think about how sports are

being played right now. And I was speaking with somebody earlier in the sports world today and they were saying that the power is in part owing to the concentration of athletes and the focus to some extent, I mean this notion that just taking the NBA for a second, that all of these players, all of these teams, you know, the majority, not every team and not every player, but the majority were in one place and able to get together in one room and and make decisions. So the

moment in some ways has met them. And all of this is sort of coming together, this nexus of the of the pandemic, as well as facing down structural racism, some of it in it in an almost perverse way, has been made possible by the pandemic. Well, the fact that the players were together it probably did make it

that much easier for them to act. I think the other kind of inspiring moment and all this is all the other sports that that joined in that weren't that weren't in one location, and and you know, almost universally professional sports and college sports, you know, stood together and made it made a statement. So I think, you know, it's inspiring. I think it's a good thing. And uh, you know, hopefully, you know, better things will come. I mean, sports is not the panacy and to solve all problem,

but it is a platform. And uh, and people can't make a positive contribution to hopefully moving things forward in a constructive fashion. Um broughting it out a little bit just to talk about playing sports? Um, what kind of sports are we gonna keep playing? Like? Are we gonna get used to? Oh, a bunch of these players got to got tested and therefore we're gonna stop games for about a week and then we'll pick it back up. Like is that going to be the new normal for

sports now? Too? Well? I think so. I mean, as long as you're living in the pandemic, you know, anything's possible. I think when you look at it on balance, it's been amazingly done well. I mean the NHL has had zero positive tests, hasn't canceled a contest. I mean NBA hasn't canceled a contest and has had very few positive tests. You know, NASCAR's gone off well, PGA Tour, you know, the National Women's Soccer League did really well and had

a really good TV ratings. The only sports it's had a real, a real challenge has been baseball, where they don't haven't played in the bubble, but even there they've played the most games they've had a canceled, you know, thirty five or forty games. But still I think I've executed it safely and done really well. And you know, the other other areas that have to get a lot

of coverage. You know, there's about seventy five college football teams that have gone through a preseason and prior to that train for eight or nine weeks and have done that, you know, pretty safely. And that's consistent with what we're seeing around the world. People are playing rugby, they're playing soccer, and it's being played safely, and so, you know, so far, so good. But in this world, in this day and age, you know, I suppose anything is possible well, and economics

have driven some of that, whether we like it or not. George, and this is something you and I caught up on earlier this summer, right as we were getting into it, and you were giving me some statistics then about the economic impact taking college football specifically that those teams and those programs have on their local markets. So part of this is an economic recovery story, as much as people

wanting sports to come back because they like them. Yeah, well it's a I think it's gonna be devastating what happens here. I mean to take Tuscalosk, Alabama, whether Alabama plays are not this year, the economic impact for one games about twenty million dollars of games six animal million. And but you put that out to Madison, Wisconsin, Columbus, Ohio, and Knoxville, Tennessee, Autons, Georgia, and you know, communities are

really depending on these games take place. They're not gonna if they take place, there's not gonna be anywhere near the fans. And not to mention, you know, the game day revenue, uh, you know includes people that sell tickets, security, people that provide concessions, service industries. All those industries are getting people losing jobs, are being furloughed. You know, it's really gonna be very quite challenging and it's gonna be challenging, not just this year. I mean, best I can tell,

I think about it every day. I think the first half of next year for a lot anything live events is going to be very difficult. And I think all of a sudden, when you say let's go back to live events, I don't think everyone's running back is going to be very challenged and probably two and you hope that you come out of it. Also, at a time when your revenues are going down. I remember sweet sales, sponsorship, hospitality,

taking these consumer products. When those are all going down, your costs to run these events are going to go up because you have to create a safer environment. So, George, you know, one of the interesting things since you and I last talked is sports are back, and they're being played in a very different way as we were discussing at the top of the conversation. But people are watching it. I think many people agree, especially when it comes to

the NBA, it's a pretty good product. What have we learned about consumption and media and how does that become investable for someone like you, Well, I think what you're learning is that, you know, boy, it's a strong television product.

I think, you know, going into the pandemic, sports was eight eight or eighty nine of the top hundred programs on television and you know that hasn't changed here and and and on top of it, I mean you have sports on top of sports, on top of sports, and they're all their ratings are up, so they're getting strong ratings. So I think, you know, long term, it's a great sector.

And for us, the things that we see that you know, we have a number of we operating thirty countries and you know what we're seeing is that you're streaming data, design, things around digital are really accelerating and doing well. So you know, and that's not surprising. And you know, again, I think even the live event space will I mentioned it's gonna be very difficult. I think there'll be reinvenged opportunities. You know, one interesting thing I think is what ted

Leces is doing and DC. I think, you know, gambling and arenas are gonna be places where you're gonna go with your friends to place bets and probably gamble on game, not just one game, but a number of games. I mean, you say, Yankee Stadium, you'll go take your buddies and go to watch a game. I'm one place bets maybe when the game's not playing, and maybe even when there's

not a baseball season. So I think I think you're gonna see growth in all of those areas in the future, but the next a couple of years and be a little chopped in terms of just financially, to be a lot of pressure on teams and leagues and federations and in the companies around them. So there's sort of two parts of that, and one is like the ancillery businesses that exist now that are going to be struggling versus

the new ancillary businesses that are up and coming. UM, talk to me about the former and what kind of opportunities you see there. Well for us, so we we've we've invested in data, so we're at data analytics. I think the way sponsorship is going to change UM streaming and technology are areas. And one of the companies we have a design company. While I was like, why is design doing so well? But in the digital world, design is more important. So I think all things did jell,

all things gaming. I think those are really going to be strong irrespective of the pandemic and are really unaffected by the pandemic. And then, like you said, Alex, there will be new companies coming along that will be able to take advantage of live events or established companies that are as part of their return, they're going to have

to adjust to new opportunities in the world. So George talked to us about the racing world, because it's when you're very familiar with having helped run NASCAR, and you have gotten involved on a founding level with the Superstar Racing experience that's gonna launch next year, I believe. But you just announced it in the last couple of months and last month or so. Tell us what that is and what the idea underneath it is. Well, the we're launching next summer on National TV on CBS on the

major network, prime times in the summertime. We're doing in partnership with Tony Stewart was a Hall of Fame race car driver, and Aberdeen was a Hall of Fame crew chief and really the smartest guy when it comes to cars I've ever met. He was Jeff Gordon street chief when he won all the championships. And another gentleman, Sandy montagu who was a partner of mine, and uh, you know what we're trying to do is bring racing back to where the fans are kind of in the heartland.

So we're going to short tracks, seats will sell them out, and gonna have a new form of racing meaning what we're we're bringing the car so the no car owners, it's gonna be close, it's going to be on the driver, and it's gonna be with recognizable guys champions that have won championship before competing. So it'll be kind of fun. It'll be new and innovative. It'll be short an hour racing now and fifteen minutes close competitive with deeply you

recognized on national TV. Will be a lot of fun. Um. It's been well received by the racing fans who want to watch races on the driver's skill and not technology. And again we're bringing it, you know, really to the C and D counties, you know where the fans are. So we had a lot of fun with it. It's fun for me, you know, to go back and work with Ray Abraham and Tony Stewart who I cut my cheek with over over twenty years ago. And in terms of then how you so is it just live like

is it streaming? Like what's the relationship between giving those events to the fans versus the streaming capabilities. Well, well you can do you know, with this, you can do so much. So this will be live on CBS, will also streaming outside the US on Facebook. But also there's so many stories you can tell um digitally through just you know, non live content, building a car, talking to old race car drivers, and you can do that really

in any sports. So I think, you know, the future of the world there is going to be you know, streaming people consuming content on other devices and also different short format content in addition to the live games. Yeah, it's so interesting to to think about that. I feel like we've learned so much about content in this pandemic and Alex you and I joke about like we'll go down a rabbit hole, you know, both like learn think

about something. And there's so much out there that people want to get smarter, like the Olympic packages when they're like, let me tell you about this art, this athlete that then it makes you want to cry. Yeah, exactly, exactly. All right, great to catch up with George Pine, founder and CEO of Bruin Sports Capital Jonius on the phone from Connecticut,